Elucidate the methods by which Christendom became World Christianity

The natural progression of this perspective is then to examine the growth of World Christianity.  Prior to World War I, there was mention of “World Evangelisation”. Obviously not the same concept but understandable when the demographics are considered, eighty percent of the worlds Christians resided in the West. Evangelisation suggests that the focus is upon converting non-Christians however, still suggesting the mental framework and attitudes characterising colonial era Christianity.  Johnson and Kim mark the term “World Christian” appearing “as a transitional phrase that emerged after World War I as an educational concept to help(specifically American) Christians gain more respect for other peoples of the world.”   Interestingly then, the term actually predates “world Christianity” but refers to cultural awareness and sensitivity that has come to be viewed as vital in modern ecumenical dialogue.  The phrase “world Christianity” emerged after the first World War and was not solely an acknowledgement of the shifting demographic of Christianity.  The beginnings of Communion Ecclesiology, stemming from the likes of Vatican II, was starting to allow local variations and contributions of indigenous expressions of Christianity to be viewed as an occurrence to be welcomed rather than tolerated.  This was undoubtedly linked to the shattering effect of World War I on Europe. Christians losing confidence in their “cultural” form of Christianity in began to focus instead upon the uniting aspect of Christianity. While overt acknowledgement of the value of non-European expressions of Christianity was not yet manifest, there was a pronounced softening of intolerance and non-Western Christian leaders were given more scope to voice their opinions. This can best be viewed in the composition of world missionary conferences. In Edinburgh in 1910, only 17 of 1,100 delegates were “nationals” from mission fields. At Jerusalem in 1928, a quarter of the delegates came from younger churches, and at Tambaram in 1938 half were non-Western. This was definite progress toward “world Christianity”. However, while it was increasingly permissible to look upon indigenous Christians as suitable for spreading the Gospel throughout their own countries, it is debateable how much respect they were truly afforded as theologians in their own right.

Philip Jenkins in “The Next Christianity”, likens the current situation to a new reformation, with geographical rather than denominational in nature.  This provides an interesting observation about a very real aspect when examining the title question, the power and authority which groups of Christians can have over their denomination’s Church as a whole. An example to illustrate this is the Roman Catholic Church. Possessing a central authority structure in Rome and a European language (Latin) as it’s lingua Franca, there will always be a European character to the denomination as a whole. However, Vatican II allowed for more expression of local culture within Roman Catholicism and there is a very real possibility that the next Pope will be African.  The presence of large numbers of immigrants, a reality throughout most of the Western world, can affect the established churches, even of the same denomination. Remaining with the example of Roman Catholicism, the large and increasing population of Latinos in the United states of America (estimated to become one quarter of the total US population by 2050), will almost certainly begin to influence the existing “white” Roman Catholic churches in a number of areas.  The Latino Catholics are noticeably more conservative than their Anglo counterparts and display distinctive liturgical differences, including a pronounced veneration of the saints and the Blessed Virgin. Thus, even for Christian denominations whose power bases remain in Europe (which includes North American Roman Catholics) for Ecclesiological or historical reasons, there is still scope for “World Christianity” to develop.  

The second perspective mentioned in the introduction opposes the first, while mostly rejecting Belloc’s assertion that “Europe is the faith”, views other expressions of Christianity as stemming from the European tradition. If proven, this perspective would negate Sanneh’s definition of “world Christianity” and there would instead only be Christians around the world who are using the European Christianity archetype in some form (Sanneh’s global Christianity”). Maia green in her work, Priests, Witches and Power: Popular Christianity after Mission in Southern Tanzania, asserts that, in Tanzania at least, modern African Christianity is a continuation of European missionary work, even when it is no longer present. While controversial, it can extremely difficult to differentiate between facets of African Christianity which are indigenous and those which have been imported from abroad, which again leads to examination of the African Initiated Churches. While groups such as the amaNazarites do indeed have little in common with European denominations beyond a belief in Jesus Christ, there are those who question if such groups are Christian sects or different religions altogether. An example would be the belief among many amaNazarites that Isaiah Shembe was God and statements from his son and grandson that he was a “black Christ”. Both positions are obviously unacceptable to many Christians, European or otherwise and leads to the debate about whether a group referring to themselves as Christian makes them so, which will not be discussed here and to syncretism, which will. In conclusion of this point, it could be argued that those expressions of Christianity which were not based upon the work of European missionaries are vulnerable to being declared new religions and thus not part of the global Christian faith.

Syncretism is a charge increasingly levelled at non-European churches. Korean theologian Hyun Kyung Chung created a great deal of controversy following a liturgical presentation at the 1991 World Council of Churches annual meeting, which included elements and practices from Asian Shamanic religions. This raises the question as to when such syncretism removes the practice from Christianity. This is separate to the point already made about new religions as some cultural changes are inevitable and even useful when Christianity is introduced to a new culture. However, when key elements such as liturgical practice are altered, an argument can be made that such practices are no longer Christian. Denominations originating from Europe are not immune to syncretisation. They are however, more resistant due to the existence of regulatory organisations such as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, whose role includes the opposition of such changes. Thus, European expression of Christianity could be seen as the expression as regards purity of tradition.

It is of value to consider a third grouping of Christianity, neither Christendom nor world Christianity but rather “global Christianity”, not in Sanneh’s use of the term.  Rather defining “global Christianity” in cultural and theological terms, as opposed to the political elements present in Sanneh’s definition.  Contemporary writers including Philip Jenkins,

Use  “global Christianity” to describe the “fluid process of cultural interaction, expansion,

synthesis, borrowing and change” that takes place in all international religions.  Thus “global Christianity” would here be almost diametrically opposed to Sanneh’s view and would instead resembles the ideal of the early church. One in which every expression of the religion is valid and Christianity is a true faith as opposed to a cultural/political model with religious overtones, a viewpoint of the detractors of historical Christendom and colonial era mission.

In conclusion, while the majority of material available favoured the position that the European tradition of Christianity is only one expression of many, there is substantial scholarly work opposed to this. While there is a danger of adopting a patronising mindset while discussing non-European Christianity, political correctness alone should not prevent frank discussion about syncretic practices. The issue will become increasingly significant as the Christian demographic increasingly shifts from Europe and there is still no clear answer to the question posed. Finally, in response to the title question, while as a concept Christendom is now largely defunct, the situation it once represented is coming into existence once again. Jenkins attempts to redefine Christendom in a manner in which the term is no longer a social faux pas and appropriate for use with non-European Christians. He writes “Today across the global South a rising religious fervour is coinciding with declining autonomy for nation-states, making useful an analogy with the medieval concept of Christendom—the Res Publica Christiana—as an overarching source of unity and a focus of loyalty transcending mere kingdoms or empires. Kingdoms might last for only a century or two before being supplanted by new states or dynasties, but rational people knew that Christendom simply endured. The laws of individual nations lasted only as long as the nations themselves; Christendom offered a higher set of standards and mores that could claim to be universal. Christendom was a primary cultural reference, and it may well re-emerge as such in the Christian South—as a new transnational order in which political, social, and personal identities are defined chiefly by religious loyalties.” A lengthy quote but one which demonstrates that Jenkins is not necessarily stretching the concept of Christendom excessively. This relates to the “palpable missiological confusion” of Douglas John Hall, that the viewing of the expansion of Western power and political influence as a means, or even the goal, of Christian mission is due to the need to Westerners “to tell the Christian story as a success story.” This is increasingly significant in the post-colonial era, when overt control by Western powers is rare and likely to become rarer. Added to this is the lack of boundaries for any modern Western Christendom. North America and the countries of the European Union have practitioners of every faith and denomination and their religious freedoms are protected by law. This presence of other faiths, along with the decline of Christian cultural hegemony in the West, to allow what Hall describes as an opportunity for Western Christians as they lose their cultural and religious dominance and gain the ability to become the “the salt, yeast, and light of the world.” While it is unlikely to become a true polity again, Christianity may well be turning a full circle back to a new Christendom.

Bibliography

Belloc, Hilaire., Europe and the Faith (BiblioBazaar 27 Sep 2006).

CBS News http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/10/05/ap/world/main5364354.shtml

Accessed 01/02/10 19:00

Conway, Martin and Davies, Noel., World Christianity in the Twentieth Century (SCM Press September 30, 2008).

Green, Maia., Priests, Witches and Power: Popular Christianity after Mission in Southern Tanzania (Cambridge University Press April 14, 2003)

Hall, Douglas John., The End of Christendom and the Future of Christianity (Wipf & Stock Publishers June 2002)

Hebden, Ross and Morehead., Encountering New Religious Movements (Kregel Academic & Professional 1 Jan 2004)

Hexham (Editor), Shembe (Translator), Becken (Translator)., The Scriptures of the Amanazaretha of Ekuphakameni: Selected Writings of the Zulu Prophets Isaiah and Londa Shembe (University of Calgary Press, 1994).

Jenkins, Philip., The next Christendom: the coming of global Christianity (Oxford University Press, USA March 31, 2002).  

                                                                     

John Paul II., UNITATIS REDINTEGRATIO online article (http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decree_19641121_unitatis-redintegratio_en.html

Johnson, Todd., Christianity in Global Context: Trends and Statistics (Prepared for the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, accessed through Pew Forum http://pewforum.org/events/051805/global-christianity.pdf. 25/10/09.15:09)

Johnson, Tom and Kim, Sandra., Describing the Worldwide Christian Phenomenon International (Bulletin of Missionary Research, Apr2005, Vol. 29 Issue 2

Marsh, Charles., Wayward Christian soldiers: freeing the Gospel from political captivity (Oxford University press 2007)

Noll, Mark., Does Global Christianity Equal American Christianity? (Christianity Today July 2009, Accessed through Athens.15/10/09.15:31)

Phan, Peter., Is Christianity a Western Religion? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD1hRY19uRs accessed 26/10/09.16:53)         

 

Sanneh, Lamin., Whose religion is Christianity?: the gospel beyond the West (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, September 2003)

University of Calgary (http://www.ucalgary.ca/~nurelweb/books/shembe/s-index.html accessed 29/10/09.16:10).

---